Darius
Darius is the bodyguard and a long-time friend and associate of archistrategos Arcadius Drax. He is almost always seen accompanying Drax along with his other standing associate D'Anna van Halen. Background There are many legends about the imposing bodyguard of Arcadius Drax. Some say he can crush rocks with his bare hands. Others say he has torn apart main battle tanks with the same. Neither are too far off the truth. A Sidh of Denerari background, Darius has always held a strong affinity for technology, especially since the said technology has come to keep him alive. Having served as Drax's bodyguard for several centuries, this once-handsome man has since become more machine than man, having absorbed "more punishment than a dreadnought" in the words of his employer. The centuries on the battlefield and the extreme injuries suffered there have considerably dehumanized Darius, leaving behind a hulking, extremely-powerful and utterly ruthless figure where an ordinary Sidh once stood. Having largely forsaken what he once was, Darius now devotes his existence to the sole purpose of protecting his long-time associate and friend Drax from all harm. Personality A true Alpha Legionnaire in every sense of the word, Darius has perfected the skill of instilling terror in one's foes to the level of an art. Should his hulking stature not be persuasive enough, his vicious temper and utter ruthlesness has a way of terrifying even the most determined foes into backing off. The flayed faces of slain enemies adorning his armor tend to be persuasive even with those who would otherwise not step aside for him. That being said, Darius isn't entirely a mindless killing machine, even though he absolutely wouldn't mind the reputation of such. His close friendship with his employer Arcadius Drax and his associate D'Anna betrays his more tender and caring side. Darius is fiercely protective of both, especially the former, and will readily throw himself in harm's way to protect either with casual disregard for personal safety if necessary. Darius seems to hold a significant degree of martial pride, only reluctantly backing down despite sustaining severe injury during the July 16 Plot. The same incident also attests to his vicious temper and inhuman pain tolerance - he flies into berserk rage and pummels an enemy to death with his own severed arm during the same incident. Although his main emotion seems to always be thinly-veiled anger, Darius does seem to show a degree of sadness, such as his evident bitterness about his present physical state. At one point, Drax remarks about him having once been a man of such looks as to have Sidh women fight duels over his affections. Darius is a man of few words, speaking only sparsely and mostly when spoken to. Part of the reason for his silence is physical injury that makes normal speech painful for him. Trivia Darius suffers from an "augmentation rejection syndrome", a rare auto-immune disorder where a Sidh body rejects the many augmentations installed upon it. No known cure exists for this disorder, existing treatments being limited to containing the illness. Victims of the syndrome are usually extensively augmented, and suffer from tissue degeneration and necrosis without receiving constant nanite infusions. Because of this illness, his appearance has been likened to that of a corpse. Darius wields an oversized energy scimitar as his trademark weapon, it's haft being made of a human femur. Even without this weapon, his huge bulk and the correspondingly-sized armor suit conveys an impression of a walking tank, a reputation that Darius only revels in.